Article by Rabbi Mordechai Lipskier: Do you ever get the feeling that you’d like to send a missile and end the war in Eretz Yisroel? One of the messages of the bow and arrow on Lag B’Omer is that the closer we pull the bowstring towards ourselves, the farther away the arrow will reach.
It Smelled Like Moshiach In His Home
A leading talmid of the Baal Shem Tov and Mezritcher Maggid, Reb Mendel Horodoker was the Alter Rebbe‘s Rebbe until he moved to Eretz Yisroel. Yet, he could not tell inside his house if Moshiach had arrived.
They Carried Him Outside While He Was Davening
The son of Rebbetzin Fraida, the Alter Rebbe‘s daughter, Reb Ahron of Krementchug married Rebbetzin Rivkah‘s mother after her first husband passed away. Once, a fire broke out while he davened, and they carried him outside completely oblivious to what had happened.
A Din Torah by the Rebbe Rashab’s Door
Though Reb Zalman Havlin offered to pay up the Horoditch yeshiva’s debt, the Frierdiker Rebbe tricked him into a din Torah by the Rebbe Rashab. Though he was exonerated, he paid it with shadchonus gelt he received.
Secular Morals Have Gone Bankrupt, Again
Article by Rabbi Mordechai Lipskier: In recent weeks, we witnessed once again the lack of morals, ethics, and even basic civility from both students and leaders at prestigious universities. Pirkei Avos reminds us at the start that Torah is the only source for good, pure, and true guidance.
He Was Teaching Torah Under the Floor
When young Shula came looking for her father, Reb Yitzchok Elchonon Shagalov, the chossid who opened the door began moving a large table in the center of the room. He then bent down and removed three planks of wood from the floor.
The Chossid Who Was ‘The Rebbe’s Golam’
As a youth, Reb Bereh Volf Koz’venikov suffered from a terrible stutter, yet, he devoted himself to teaching the simpletons in his town basic Torah teachings. When he shared this in yechidus, the Tzemach Tzedek bentched him, and he was changed forever.
Download and Print: The Rebbe’s Pre-Pesach Message
Every year, the Rebbe would issue a michtav kloli before Pesach, addressing the theme of the Yom Tov. In this letter sent in 5725, the Rebbe wrote about the steps needed to go free from Egypt. Read and download here.
Heal the Nation: Actualizing the Rebbe’s Vision for America
In honor of the Rebbe’s birthday, a project has been launched to actualize the Rebbe’s vision for a non-denominational prayer in American public schools. We sat down with the organizer, R’ Hillel Hellinger, to find out what the Rebbe said about it and why now is the time.
Sometimes It’s Better Not To Notice
Article by Rabbi Mordechai Lipskier: As parents or spouses, we often see “afflictions” in members of our households that need correction. Yom tov, and particularly Erev Pesach, can be an especially tense time. But let’s consider how Hashem tells the kohen to turn a blind eye so that the Yid can experience simchas yom tov.
He Battled His Yetzer Hara Ruthlessly
Undoubtedly an unconventional chossid, Reb Zalman Moshe Hayitzchaki was devoted to the truth with his whole heart. He fought hard with his yetzer hara, using harsh and sometimes colorful terms to put it away.
The Bochur Who Stumped the Rogatchover Gaon
When Reb Berel Garfinkel was twenty-one, he knew all of Shas with Rashi, Tosfos, and other rishonim, as well as all the printed maamorim – by heart! Yet, he carried no air of pride or feigned “humility.”
The Chossid Who Resolved that Tomorrow Would be “Gur Andersh”
Though he suffered many hardships, Reb Gershon Ber Paharer was always thankful for the good things that happened to him. A great chossid, he would resolve every night that the next day be different than the one that passed.
It’s Your Fear That Causes You to Fail
Article by Rabbi Mordechai Lipskier: The Maharal shares an interesting experiment: Place a beam of wood over a river and notice that most people won’t succeed in crossing to the end. Place the same beam on the ground and no one will fall off. It’s the thought of falling that causes us to fall.
Taking Out the Garbage Isn’t About You
Article by Rabbi Mordechai Lipskier: If my marriage is about me, my status, pride or sense of fulfillment, I’d surely choose to do only the more sophisticated and pleasurable jobs. But marriage shouldn’t be about me. It should be about something greater than me.
In the Middle of the Night, They Heard Knocking on the Door
It was late one blustery Friday night under Communism when knocking was heard on the door of a chossid’s home in Nevel. Terrified, he opened the door, to find the town’s shochet Reb Chaim Dovid Lein looking for candlelight by which to learn a maamar.
“With My Yisroel I Won’t Argue!”
A chossid of the Alter Rebbe from his early years in Liozna, R. Yisroel Yafeh of Dubravna was a talented baal menagen. When the Alter Rebbe went to rest during the Zhlobiner chassuna, he played his violin outside the door, inspiring the Rebbe to recite a maamar until 7 am.
The Cartier Saleswoman was Taken by His Confidence
Article by Rabbi Mordechai Lipskier: There’s a notion that by blurring the boundaries between Yidden and goyim we’ll gain their respect. That we’ll solve the problem of anti-Semitism or anti-Israel biases by showing that we’re really all the same. But the opposite is true.
The Rebbe Rashab’s ‘True and Beloved Friend’
One of three people to receive semicha from the Rebbe Maharash, Reb Yaakov Mordechai Bezpalov, later the rov of Poltava, was the Rebbe Rashab‘s chavrusa and close friend who brought him comfort after his father’s histalkus.
When “Normal” Parenting Doesn’t Cut It
Article by Rabbi Mordechai Lipskier: If we always go with what’s normal, chances are that when our children grow up, they may do even less than we did. But if we make a point to allow an “abnormal” situation—we have the children share rooms to make space for guests—these doses of abnormal commitment to Hashem will help educate our children to overcome tough times ahead of them.